The Overwatch Experiment
by Rainpool of WaterfallClan
Summary: It's the year 2040, and virtual reality has advanced gaming. But what happens when someone takes advantage of that power and puts millions of lives in danger. Follow me as I take you through my experiences in the game and how a group of normal people banned together to protect the game they all love. (Based from actual events and some fiction. Names have been changed.)
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

It's the year 2040, and technology has developed so much over the years. The most popular advancement, virtual reality. It had been a developing concept for years but now it had developed into something more than just headsets you put over your eyes and see like you are inside a game. Technology now makes it so you are actually in the game. A device called the VRX Headset, first developed in 2020, made it so you were actually in the game. When this VRX Headset first came out, gamers from around the world just had to have one.

Gaming had also developed alot over the years and has become more popular than ever. One game in particular, Overwatch. Ever since it's release in 2016, it had taken the world by storm and became very popular in the gaming community. It had died down over the years but now with the new virtual reality technology we have today, it has made a come back.

Players can now feel like they are actually fighting in the game and becoming the characters they all love. The players use headsets that connect directly to their spinal cords, nervous system, and brain. Manipulating all their senses to give them the actual feeling of being inside the game. However, pain is obviously not included. While not in the game, players can take the form of their favorite character and hangout in the Hub worlds, infinite skirmishes on some of the maps in Overwatch.

Overwatch gained a lot of new players but also some critics who felt the VRX systems still needed work and worried about the dangers it could have to its users. Little did anyone realize just how much danger this technology could put someone in, let alone millions upon millions of people.


	2. Chapter 1 Welcome to the Game

CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO THE GAME

Time: 2:42pm

Game:Overwatch

Mode: Competitive

Map: Watchpoint: Gibraltar

Attack

This is where it all began. My first map in Overwatch. I remember it pretty well. I was new to the game. Had no idea which character I could be best at and quite frankly, I sucked with all of them at first. I often got teased for being new and toxic players would often blame me for us losing because I was a girl or well a healer. One healer in particular, Mercy.

I've often been asked why I chose Mercy of all people to main. Maybe I like to stay on the sidelines, maybe I like to support the team, maybe I like to heal, maybe it's because she is a girl, or maybe I didn't choose her at all. Maybe she chose me. I honestly don't think anyone has a logically reason for picking their mains. Maybe they just simply loving being that character.

Getting slightly off track here, it has been months since I've joined Overwatch and I've gotten alot better and made a lot of friends. Sometimes I question their sanity but then again I question my own sometimes so it's fine. Today, the goal is to get me out of bronze rank and into silver and where better to do it than my favorite map. We're the first to attack and I immediately pick Mercy. As i'm waiting for the others to pick, I sit in a corner inside our spawn. not too long after, I hear my teammates arguing, again. In particular, the two people I happen to be grouped up with at the time.

"Widowmaker? On attack?" That would be Wildkat. One of the angriest people I know. When that guy rages, boy he rages.

"Are you doubting my amazing Widow skills, Wildkat?" Our Widowmaker would be none other than JJThePheonix, we just call him Jj for short. He can be a bit full of himself but he definitely has some skill i'll give him that. Especially with Widowmaker. Eventually I stand up.

"Let him be who he wants. I've seen people kick ass as an attack Widowmaker." I say, crossing my arms. Wildkat looks at him.

"Alright, alright. Don't yell at me."

"I'm not yelling, at least not yet."

"Whatever. Why don't you go wash the dishes or something." I smack him upside the head.

"One of these days, that's going to actually hurt." The timer soon runs down and the doors to our spawn open. Jj immediately takes the back door and tries to go highground on top of the building on the left of our spawn. Wildkat goes straight for the front door, making his way to the payload. I fly up to Jj and stay back, boosting his damage while he takes aim at the enemy team.

From what I can see, they have a Torbjorn, Winston, Tracer, Lucio, Moira, and their own Widowmaker, who wastes no time making shots at Wildkat. For the most part, he is able to icewall to block her shots but then the Winston starts targeting him and he suddenly Cryo Freezes himself. Our Junkrat, , and Soldier 76 help Wildkat push the payload while Jj watches from above. The payload looks like a warzone as the Winston suddenly ults along with the Pharah.

At this point, we've lost our Soldier and Junkrat. Diva jumps out of her mech, fighting for her life as Wildkat shields her with an ice wall. I take advantage of the opportunity and fly down to my fallen teammates. I start bringing the Junkrat back to life. In this state, I'm vulnerable and in the corner of my eye, I see the Tracer coming at me and their Widowmaker taking aim. Suddenly, the Widowmaker goes down as Jj makes a perfect headshot. Meanwhile, Wildkat has the Tracer frozen as he shoots an Icicle through her skull, killing her instantly.

"Thanks guys. Moira, up top!" I yell as we start making our way under the bridge. Our Junkrat is back up on his feet and thanks me. By this point, our is back in her Mech and giving the Winston some issues. Jj grapples onto the bridge and ends up in a shootout with the enemy Widow. I fly up to him to back him up as he takes her down.

"Thanks Crescent. Wildkat, turret top left. I can't get a shot on the Torb."

"I got it." Wildkat made his way up to the top where a Torbjorn turret fired at us. I fly down to the , staying behind so the turret didn't focus on me because that thing can eat through a Mercy's health like it's nothing. up top, Wildkat is fighting a Torbjorn and eventually kiss him, then makes short work of his turret.

The clock is ticking though as our time comes down to 30 seconds. We have to hit the first checkpoint or our time will run out. The enemy team is going hard as Pharah ults again but Jj shuts her down instantly.

"Sit down Pharah!" He yells. I get ready to respond but then a Moira latches on to me. I try to fly back and forth between my teammates but she just won't give up. I barely make it as our Junkrat throws his mine and kills her instantly. We now hit overtime and the only enemy left on the payload is a Winston and Lucio. Our flys up and drops her ult. Her Mech sits ontop of the payload as it gets ready to go off. The Lucio suddenly drops his ult and they just barely survive.

We're in overtime now and just barely hanging on. The enemy Winston comes back as a Bastion and starts mowing out teammates down. Wildkat tries to block but Bastion tears through the ice wall and eventually kills him. Junkrat charges in but is immediately shut down. I tried to hide behind the payload but Tracer harrasses me. Jj jumps down to the payload and in a last ditch effort, repeatedly shoots at the enemy, only to be taken down by Bastion. I have no choice. I use my Valkyrie and fly up, I manage to resurrect Jj but Bastion tears through my HP and my body falls, Jj dies soon after and we watch as the time quickly goes out. The game resets and we prepare to attack. We just have to keep them from getting as far as us.

Jj is cursing under his breath as he goes Symmetra. Wildkat settles on Soldier 76 as I stay Mercy.

"Alright, time to roast these noobs. Crescent, just keep all the heals on me." he says as we make our way to the enemy spawn, setting up our defense.

"You know I don't pocket heal, Jj. I go to whoever needs me. It's an automatic reaction."

"Fine, fine. These guys won't know what hit them anyway." he said as he started setting up turrets.

"Hopefully we can hold them off. I want out bronze." I grumble, standing with Wildkat and one of our teammates who had picked Orisa.

"Don't worry. Stick with me, I'll get ya out of bronze."

A few seconds later the spawn doors opened and the second round began.

…

After playing a few more matches and going up and down with our SR, we returned to one of the Hub Worlds where players just sit idle or chat or just waiting for a game. We were still in Watchpoint: Gibraltar at the attacking spawn. I sat down by the chalkboard as Jj, who was Widowmaker at the time, sat down with me along with Wildkat who was Mei.

"Well guys, I have to get off. I have school tomorrow." Jj says.

"Yeah me too. I'll you guys later." Wildkat says before bringing up a menu and disappearing. Jj soon did the same. Suddenly, a message alert popped up in front of me. It was one of my other friends, Gardejeager, asking if I wanted to play a few matches with him.

I had met Garde a few months ago in a competitive match. He defended me against a toxic player. We had been talking and found we both really liked each other so we started dating.

I message him back and send him an invite. In no time, he appears in front of me. A Junkrat, of course. His favorite character. I smile at him as I get up and hug him. He smiles, returning my hug.

"Hello, fake wife." he says, I giggle.

"Hello, fake husband. Ready to cause some chaos together?" I tease. He chuckles.

"Chaos is my middle name, babe."

"Is Smartass your first name then?" I laugh. He smirks.

"No need for name calling babe or do I have to punish you?" he teases. I lightly hit his arm, crossing my own.

"I'd love to see you try. This wolf is wild ya know, heh." Before he can respond, someone appears next to us. It a Reaper and I immediately recognize the username. MS-04SAZABI, but since it's hard to say all that, we just call him by his name, Nick. Nick is Garde's best friend and one energetic person. The guy is certifiably insane sometimes but it's so damn funny. The two make a great pair and with the three of us, we make a great team.

Nick yawns loudly, walking over to us and putting an arm around Garde's shoulder.

"What's up love birds. Am I interrupting?" Garde pushes his arm off, trying to look mad but failing.

"Maybe. What's up? Want to do some 3V3 Elimination?"

"I'm down. Let's fuck shit up." I laugh. As Garde starts searching for a match. For the most part, we win pretty often. We have good communication and they are really good at fucking shit up. We play a few rounds before Garde says he has to leave for a bit. Nick and I decide to play some regular matches. Because I'm feeling brave today, I decide to go Roadhog as he goes Diva . We're on Hanamura and we are defending. Nick laughs as we make our way out of spawn.

"Oh hell yeah! All Tank Meta, let's do this, haha." I laugh as we get to the gate.

"Unleash my inner bitch!" I yell. Nick laughs so hard he can't breath.

"Unleash your inner bitch as you play Roadhog, i can't. Hahaha." We laugh as we go past the gate. "I feel nothing, let's do this." He suddenly sits down as plays her little game and suddenly I have an idea.

"Nick, don't get back up. Stay there. Watch this." I sit down next to him as the clock ticks down. Nick laughs because he knows what is coming. The enemy's spawn doors open as they all come rushing out. The rest of our team defends the point as we just sit there. The enemy team not even paying attention to us. We laugh so hard the whole time before the enemy Symmetra suddenly starts attacking me. Nick makes it out alive but she kills me. I'm too busy laughing to care though.

The day goes on and we win some, we lose some. In the end, all that matters to me is having fun. Eventually though it starts to get late. We say our goodbyes and I open the menu to log out.

Once out, I pull the VRX off my head. I set it next to me as I sit up in my over at the clock, it's 6:30pm. I stretch a bit before standing up. Looking at myself in my mirror, my purple hair is a mess, my overwatch league shirt is all wrinkly and my shorts are up my ass. My fix myself before leaving my room. I live in a one bedroom apartment on my own. It gets lonely but at least it is I just need time to myself.

As I go into the kitchen, my phone vibrates. It's Garde. Since we started dating, we like to message each other all the time and he likes checking up on me.I smile as I pick up my phone, going over to the fridge and grabbing some lunch meat, looking at my phone as I take the stuff to the counter.

Garde writes: "Hey beautiful. What are you up to?" I grin, grabbing the bread with one hand and texting him back with the other hand.

"Just making a sandwich. What about you?" I set my phone down, going back to the fridge for the mayo when I hear my phone vibrate again. Walking back over, starting to make my sandwich as I read.

"College work. It sucks. I'd rather think about you." I finish making my sandwich and respond.

"Well obviously you are thinking about me if you're texting me, haha." I take my sandwich and phone, going over to the couch, sitting down as my phone vibrates again.

"Haha, very true. I have I told you lately that I love you? Cause I so do." I take a few bites of my sandwich before responding.

"Haha I love you too, my handsome Junkrat." It takes him no time to respond.

"And I you, my beautiful Mercy." I smiled. Things seemed pretty good at this point. Those rare moments in your life where everything seems almost perfect. Too bad life has other plans.


	3. Chapter 2 Game vs Reality

CHAPTER 2 GAME VS REALITY

I hate mornings. Why must people get up so early anyway? Can't daily life just start at noon? I grumble as I reach for my phone. My annoying alarm is going off and i just want to toss it out the window. I get it turned off as I sit up. I look like hell and I can't see a damn thing with my hair everywhere.

After about 15 minutes, I manage to get dressed for work, though I am highly dreading it. I always hate work. It's something about having to get up so early just to hear people complain about what they buy or if the system doesn't work so it is automatically your fault. I hate working retail.

After I've had my breakfast, a poptart as usual, I hear my phone vibrating. I yawn, looking at my phone. It's Garde calling me. I answer.

"Hey hun. Isn't it a bit early for you to call?" I say, grabbing my purse.

"You know me, I never sleep. Getting ready for work?" He says. I sigh.

"Yeah, unfortunately. I'd rather stay here not deal with idiots."

"Sweety, there are idiots everywhere. Just look at Jj."

"Garde, that's not nice. I know he can get on my nerves, but he is just a kid."

"Kid or not, he's after my girl and you are mine." He says firmly. I giggled.

"And you are mine." I hear him chuckled before I hear Nick in the background. Garde sighs.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something, Nick." I hear Nick's voice pretty clearly on the other end.

"You have to see this, man." I hear them both go silent.

"What is it, Garde?" I ask. What could be that important?

"It's just a web article saying Overwatch has been experiencing log in issues and other glitches. So? It's a game. it happens." Garde says pretty irritated.

"Yeah but someone reported their character model glitching out like they had no control over it." Nick retorts. I sigh.

"Tell Nick, he is overreacting. They'll get whatever it is fixed soon. Look, I have to go to work. I'll see you guys later tonight." I say, grabbing my coat and throwing it on.

"Alright, sweetie. Have a good day at work. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye." I hang up, opening the door and locking it behind me.

Work is boring as usual except for the loads of work my Store Manager has put on me. Stocking shelves and making the store look nice while dealing with rude ass people. It's annoying but it's a job and it pays my bills. I only have a five hour shift and once it's over, I'm beyond relieved.

After work, I head down to the local library. I check out a few books and get on one of the computers for while. I check out one of the articles Nick was going on about. Just then, I feel a tap on my shoulder.I turn around and see one of my best friend's, Holly, standing behind me. On the game, she is known as TheForeverWife. She smiles at me.

"What's up? How was work?" I turn my chair around to face her.

"Oh hey, it was boring as usual."

"So, I guess you've seen the articles about the Overwatch glitches?" She says, pointing at the computer screen.

"Oh yeah. Well, Nick was talking about it when I was on the phone with Garret this morning. He was freaking out about it."

"But Overwatch has alot of glitches. I'm sure it's nothing. Hey, you wanna go get some ice cream?" I smile at her, standing up and logging out of the computer.

"Sure." She smirks.

"And I'm buying! No buts!" She says before hurrying out of the library. I speed after her.

"What? Wait! Holly!"

…

"Glitches in the game, huh? Yeah, I've heard some shit." Jj says, sitting back down on one of the benches in the Hanamura map hub world. Being widowmaker as usual. A reaper sitting next to him. Her name is Sicibat, she is JJ's girlfriend.

"Maybe, but it's a lot of glitches. Something about character models not moving and logouts screwing up." I add as Garde crosses his arms.

"But remember, Overwatch has a long history of glitches. The Reaper stuck in the wall glitch, Reaper shooting above the map, Mercy couldn't rez in Valkyrie. They just need to fix some stuff. It's not anything to worry about, dear." Garde says, reaching over and holding my hand, I squeeze it in return. Sicibat stands up.

"Yeah, I'm not worried about it. Can we play a game now?" She says as Jj also stands up.

"Yeah, Crescent?" I sigh.

"Yeah. Want to get our asses kicked in capture the flag again?" Garde stands up.

"Hey, that's negative talk. You got to have some confidence in us, babe."

"Okay then. I'm confident we'll get our asses kicked. Sound better?" I smirk. He just laughs.

"Eh, I'll take it." he laughs as I open the menu and start searching for a game.

After about two hours of getting our asses kicked in capture the flag, JJ and Sicibat get off, leaving me with Garde and Nick. We decide to play some quickplay and end up on Hanamura on Defense. Someone else chooses Mercy so I decide to work on my tanks and choose Roadhog while Nick chooses Diva and Garde goes with Mcree. As we're setting up to defend the point, Nick starts heading farther up close to the enemy spawn room. I decide to follow him.

"Alright, let's do this!" He says as he does DiVA's sitting emote. Then, I suddenly get a dumb idea.

"Nick, stay there and don't move. I got an idea." I move over to the right of him and sit down with him. Garde stays back, watching us.

"What are you two doing?" He questioned. I giggled.

"Just watch and you'll see, haha."

We stayed like that as the clock counted down before finally opening the enemy spawn door. We stayed still as the enemy team started running up to the choke in front of the gate. They started attacking our teammates but completely ignored us for a good three minutes before a Symmetra started attacking me. Nick flies out of the way, laughing his ass off as the Symmetra kills me but I'm too busy laughing to care. Garde laughs as he shakes his head.

"Come on you knuckleheads, let's defend this point."

…

Sometimes it's hard to believe we had fun like that. Goofing off, laughing, and just enjoying each other's company. Things were so simple then. Playing a game for fun. But, eventually, everything must change and sometimes, change is not a good thing.

It had been a few days since I had seen Garde. I knew he was in college and his family life was pretty busy but that was the thing with him, he would never tell me many details. He preferred to keep others in the dark because he felt his problems would be a burden to them but I never saw it that way. We were in this together and I wanted to help him however I could but what could I do when he kept his walls up?

One night, he messages me, saying he wants to meet up on Overwatch and talk. I happily respond as I jumped on. I had really missed him the past few days and I couldn't wait to hear from him. We met up on Numbani, the map we met on. I select Mercy and wait in the hub word for him. Soon, I see my Junkrat walking over. I smile at him but then I stop. He looks at me, frowning. Clearly, something is bothering him.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Does it have to do with what you want to talk about?" I ask.

"It does. I've been doing alot of thinking lately. It may be upsetting but I'm doing this for you." I look at him confused and scared because I have a bad feeling.

"Garret, just spit it out…" He sighs.

"...I'm breaking up with you."

And with that, my world felt like it was crashing down and burning to ashes.


	4. Chapter 3 Lost

**Chapter 3**

 **Lost**

It's been about four months now. It's been rough. I had many relationships in the past but this...it was my first broken heart. The pain was numbing and unbearable on some days. I hadn't heard from Garret for months and not a day went by that I didn't think of him at least once. It was so sudden and so unpredictable. I tried to fix things, maybe change his mind but….He wouldn't have any of it. He kept saying he did it for me but that wasn't true. He promised never to hurt me and he willingly did.

The months that passed, I stayed in contact with Nick. He was helping me get through this and I really appreciated it. Holly and my other friends helped as well. I probably wouldn't have been able to move on without them. I lost touch with Jj after his breakup with Sicibat as well but eventually I ran into him again. I caught him up on everything that happened and we started playing again. His Widowmaker skills had definitely improved but so did my Mercy skills.

I Introduced him to a new group I met and we all started hanging out on the game, Holly included. Nick started getting on less and less and eventually we lost touch as well but only for a while, we still messaged here and there. A lot had changed over the past few months but I was getting better. Getting more confident in myself and it was definitely showing in the game.

Blizzard World Hub World. I was sitting outside what would be the park entrance right by the attackers spawn on this map in a normal match. It had been an hour and i was still waiting for the others to show up. Soon enough, I see a Sombra suddenly appear in front of me, making me fall off the bench from jumping. The Sombra laughed as they helped me up. It was my friend, Daruser16 but most of us just called him Dar.

"Hahaha, sorry Crescent." He said. I stood up, brushing myself off.

"Damnit, Dar. Can you not do that?! You scared the shit out of me!" He laughs and smirks.

"Feels bad."

"Where are the others? They said they would be here an hour ago. I wanted to try the new Capture the Flag map, Ayutthaya."

"I don't know where they are." And just like on cue, a Diva out of mech, a Zenyatta, and a Reinhardt suddenly appeared. I sighed.

"About time." They walked over to me and Dar. The Diva was TheForeverWife. The other two were friends I made in the past months, the Zenyatta was Rduffjr, but we call him Rudolph, and the Reinhardt was Optimusbob94, but we call him Bob or Optimus.

"Sorry, I had some chores to do." Bob says, sitting down next to me. Rudolph meditates nearby.

"Yeah and I had a paper to work on for school."

"Feels bad." Dar responds. Bob looks over at me, setting his hammer down next to him.

"So, how are you doing?" I sigh, debating on being honest or just lying. I opt for lying.

"Good. Busy here and there but good." I put on my best fake smile but he sees right through me. Wife must too because she gives me a look before speaking.

"I'm going to say hi to the enemy team." Rudolph jumps up.

"Me too."

"I'll go irritate them." Dar says with a smirk. Rudolph replies.

"Don't you always though?"

"Of course." Dar responds as they go off to the other side of the map, leaving me and Bob alone. Once we're alone, he doesn't hesitate.

"Alright, something is bothering you." I sighed, knowing I can't lie to him.

"It's just the same old shit. It's not a big deal."

"It's a big deal to you. Come on. Is it about your ex?"

"...Kind of. It was just a really bad breakup and even though it's been months and I haven't heard from him….I'm just still having a hard time getting over him."

"It's okay. Things will get better and you got all of us. Plus you're smart and beautiful." I laughed.

"Not sure I agree, but thanks. You're a really nice guy but I'm just not ready to move on right now."

"I understand, don't worry. I've been through a bad breakup myself." He responded. Standing up and grabbing his hammer. "Now, I'm going to go fuck some people up." I stand up, rolling my eyes.

"Bob, how many times do I have to tell you, no killing in the skirmish unless they attack first." Suddenly, I see Rudolph running back to spawn before suddenly being blown up by an enemy Junkrat. I pull out my pistol. "Okay. Kill the motherfuckers."

…

Later that night, I was playing a few solo games of Total Mayhem before ending up in Hanamura's Hub world. Sitting by the bell on first point, I was looking at my stats. It surprised me how much I had improved over the past few months. My Mercy skills had definitely improved as well as the other characters I never thought I would be at least decent at. All those hours practicing with Garret had really paid off. I sighed. Great, I'm thinking about him again. I keep trying to tell myself it is over and there is nothing you can do to change it. As much as I wished I could have changed his mind, more than anything in the world, I just couldn't and I couldn't accept that fact. I try to forget him but I know that's a waste of time. I'm tempted to message Nick to see how Garret was doing. I felt bad always pumping him for info on how Garret was, how his life was going, if he was doing better, if he was happier without me, or if he had found someone else. I didn't even realize I had tears running down my eyes, getting on my headset. I wiped my eyes, getting angry at myself everytime I cried over him. Come on, Angela. you're stronger than this. I can't let this beat me.

Before long, I heard a Reaper's footsteps coming up behind me. I looked over and of course, it was Nick. He sat down next to him.

"Hey, your friends ditch you?" I shook my head.

"No, they all went to bed. I'm not tired so I figured I'd get some practice in and get some loot boxes in Arcade." I wanted to talk to him about Garret so bad but I always worried he would get sick of hearing about it plus he was going through his own shit right now.

"You mind if I tag along? I can't sleep either and I could use some loot boxes too and you sound like you need a friend right now." He was right. I really didn't want to be alone right now.

"Yeah. We're going to get through this, Nick. At Least we have each other."

"Yeah. Sometimes I just don't see a point in going on."

"Me either…..but I refuse to just give up. I'm going to just roll over and play dead. Honestly, that's not how my mom raised me. I'm a stubborn bitch, not a whiny bitch." Nick chuckled, standing up.

"You know….He still cares about you." I stood up, looking up at the sky.

"Maybe...but he has a bad way of showing it. I have to move on with my life and so do you. I'm sick of being sad, feeling lost." Nick put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll support any decision you make." I smiled.

"Thanks, Nick. You really are a good guy. You know, maybe I should introduce you to my group. I have a feeling you guys will get along really well. They're all pretty nice."

…

"Fuck you, Dar." I yelled, running back from spawn.

"Where and how hard you want it." He replied as he deflected the enemy Bastion's bullets. We were on Junkertown on attack. We were running a six man group and unfortunately, we weren't doing so well.

"Nowhere and fuck that. Get back here so I can heal your ass." I ran up behind him as he jumped back to me, playing as Genji. I see our Reinhardt run past who was being played by Optimus.

"Do we need to separate you two?" He said as he threw a fire strike at the enemy Orisa. Our Doomfist charging up his fist before knocking out the Orisa.

"Come on, ya'll. Payload ain't pushing itself." Our Doomfist said as he kept pushing forward. His name was RastaLionRoar97 but we call him Rasta for short.

"I'm on it!" Rudolph yelled, playing Zenyatta who was fighting a Soldier 76. Trying to stay on the payload. I came running up behind him, getting my healing stream on him.

"I got ya, Rudolph!"

"Incoming!" Wife yelled as she threw her Diva mech in on the payload. The enemy team scattered but three of them got caught in the blast.

"Holy shit, good job, Wife. Let's move in!" I yelled as we started to gather on the payload. Wife jumping back in her mech, looking very proud of herself. I switched to damage boost and hung onto her. We made it to the second checkpoint as the enemy team started coming back. I backed up as the fighting started back up. In the corner of my eye, I saw an enemy Junkrat heading for us and for some reason...my mind blanked. Thinking about Garret again. All the games we won playing as Junkrat and Mercy. All the fun we had. All the laughs we shared and just….everything we were and everything we had….how it all was just...ripped away. Suddenly, I snap back just as a concussion mine hit me, taking out all my HP. I hit the ground as my respawn counter shows up above me.

"Crescent, what happened?!" Rasta yells, running past my dead body. Soon, I respawn and start running back to join them.

"Uhm...sorry, I'm coming back. He caught me off guard is all." _I can't believe i was so careless._

"You sure you're okay?" Bob says out of concern.

"Yeah I'm good, just focus on pushing the payload."

"We need someone to take out the Pharah."Rasta yells as he harrasses the Orisa. Giving Bob the chance to charge her into a wall. Wife comes flying out of nowhere, shooting her rockets at the Pharah, taking her out pretty quickly. "Nevermind. Damn girl."

Soon enough we were able to reach the end. Now it was our turn to defend, keeping the same lineup as before, we began to set up. I sit behind them as they talk strategy. _I need to get my head into the match. I'm going to drag us down if I can't pay attention._

"Crescent, you'll do fine." I snap out of my thoughts and look up. I see Reinhardt smiling at me as he throws his shield up in front of the two of us. I smile as my confidence comes back. _Thank you, Optimus._

The spawn door comes open as the enemy comes flying out. Our team is pretty aggressive to begin with until they suddenly bring out a Bastion. Wife's mech is ripped apart as I see her jump out. I quickly fly to her and running for cover with her. Optimus jumps down, doing his best to shield us before Bastion rips through that as well, taking him out in a matter of seconds. Their Orisa and Bastion set up on the payload as it starts to move.

"Pirate ship! We need to fuck em up!" Rasta yells.

"We have to take down that Bastion. Dar!" I yelled as he came running up behind me as Sombra, invisible to the enemy team.

"I'm on it." He replied as he snuck over to the payload. As we kept the enemy team focused on us, Dar took the chance to get behind use his EMP, hacking the whole team and forcing the Bastion out of turret mode. As he jumped up in confusion, Dar shot at him before translocating to the back lines, giving us a chance to push. Optimus quickly charged the Bastion, taking him out. The Orisa started focusing him as I quickly flew over to him, healing him as the rest of our team started taking them all out, running out a lot of their time.

"Keep it up, guys! We almost got them!" Rasta yelled and not before long, their time ran out and we won the match. Soon after, we end up back in the Numbani Hub World. We all sat on the payload on the first point, still talking about the competitive match.

"Good job with that triple kill, Wife." I said with Diva sitting next to me out of her mech.

"Thanks."

"You did good too, Crescent. Over 13,000 healing, that's damn good." Bob says. I smiled.

"Thanks but it's not my best. I got over 15,000 healing in a match once." Dar chuckles.

"And you still said that I'm a better Mercy."

"Shut the fuck up, Dar." I snapped as he laughed. "I still have room to improve. I plan on becoming a Grandmaster Mercy player one day. Though I bet you'll be a Grandmaster sombra first." Dar just snickered.

"Well ya'll, I think I'm going to take off." Rasta said before logging off.

"Yeah, me too. I need food." Dar whined.

"Then go eat. I'm getting hungry myself. Wife, wanna go get some Taco Bell?" I say as she nods.

"I think I'll stick around for a bit. I'll be here if you guys get back on." Bob says. I stand up.

"Yeah, i'll probably come back and play a few matches." We all say our goodbyes as we get off. I take my headset off, losing myself in my thoughts again, though it seemed like I was doing it alot lately. I never realized how much he affected me until he was gone. He had let me go but it felt like he still had this hold over me. Eventually, I stood up and started putting my shoes on before Holly got here. Heading down to the Taco Bell by my apartment. We were kind of quiet as we got our food but as soon as we sat down, she took her chance to talk.

"Is something wrong? You seemed upset on the game earlier?" I sighed. _Here we go again._

"Yeah...just the usual bullshit bothering me again."

"Angela, I know this must be hard for you and I know it's not easy but you will get through this. Garret obviously meant a lot to you and you may never be able to let him go but don't let it hold you back. You know, Bob seems to really like you." She smiled and I just chuckled.

"It is pretty obvious, isn't it? I think it's cute. He is really nice. He always manages to make me smile."

"I do like playing with him. you do seem happier around him." _I do? Huh, I never noticed that…._

"I guess. I've never really noticed." _Now that I think about it...I do really like him and he asked me about dating before but I wasn't ready. Maybe it's time I try to move on with my life._

...

Sometime later, I got back on the game. I saw that Optimus was on so I went looking for him. I waited in the Numbani hub world for him to finish his match. I lean against the bell on the first point, waiting. _Maybe I shouldn't do this….he could have changed his mind by now….what if I get my heart broken again?...Can I take anymore heartache?..._

Soon enough, as if on cue, Optimus appears as Reinhardt. He sees me and walks over.

"Hey Crescent. What's up?" he says as I take a deep breath.

"I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure. You know you can tell me anything." he smiles.

"I've been doing alot of thinking lately and...I've decided to give you a chance." He looks at me puzzled.

"A chance with what?"

"Dating...I want to be your girlfriend if you want to be my boyfriend." At first, he looks shocked and dumbfounded but then he suddenly looks like I handed him a hundred dollar bill.

"Wait, seriously? This isn't some joke, is it?" I shake my head.

"I'm completely serious. If you want a broken person like me." He smiles, leaning down and giving me a hug.

"Nothing I can't fix, heh. I must be the luckiest person in the world." I smirk.

"Not really. I'm like literal garbage, haha."

"You are not, haha."

As we talked and carried on, I started to feel my life going back on the tracks. I didn't feel lost or broken anymore. That's when I knew I could be stronger than this life and I would never let it bring me down ever again. Atleast...that's what I thought.


End file.
